Winter Trees
by Arctic Fox
Summary: The second Chapter is up!! Please r&r even if you already have! Please! I'll love you! (yeah i know the title has nothin to do with the story. Dont judge it by its title ) Its a MWPP fic (ther're my favorite!)
1. Choo Choo Trains

Kings Cross Station was very busy that Monday morning. It was crowded with so many teens and pre-teens that it was obvious they were up to something. While the older kids leaned on the lamp poles, whistling casually as if they were hiding something, the smaller hooligans busied the policemen and servicemen with nonsense questions about imaginary platforms. Something fishy was going on and no one knew what. But, if you weren't a "muggle" or a "first year," everything seemed regular. That is, with the exception of Lily Evens. She was both a muggle and a first year, but she knew her way around this place.  
  
Lily's older sister Petunia had boarded the "Hogwarts Express" for two years before last year, when she had gotten expelled. Before that, Petunia and Lily had been best friends, the closest sisters could ever be. Then Petunia was expelled (for reasons Mr. and Mrs. Evens would not let corrupt their young daughters ears.) and Lily got the letter inviting her, no, accepting her, into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That changed everything. Petunia had loved the years she spent at Hogwarts, she loved magic, everything about it, but then, she was forced to leave, isolated from the magic world. After that she hated magic, hated people who did magic, hated everything about it. She was glad her little sister, her best friend, didn't have to go. But then lily got the letter and Petunia hated her.  
  
There she was though, Lily Evens of someplace in England, and she was about to become a witch. She stood alone, well, not alone, but with no friends, and no money, and no idea what she was about to get herself into. At that moment a boy, about her age, with dark brown hair , dashed by. Turning around Lily was knocked over by yet another boy with dark brown hair and green eyes. He tripped over her, landing in a heap on top of her suitcases. In a second he had popped up again and with a full grin said, "Hi I'm James and who are you?" Lily didn't know what to say. She was sprawled on her back, on the pavement and some lunatic, the same one who had just ran into her was trying to be her friend. All she could do was groan and turn over, moaning, "L.i.l.eee." "Lily 'eh?" he repeated, "Well hold on lily I'll be right back." With that he disappeared.  
  
Suddenly she was being heaved up off the ground, was this that crazy kid again? Nope, but it was his friend who had barely missed her when they were chasing each other. Lily groaned again. "Who are you," she managed to get out. "I'm Sirius," he replied. "Serious about what," Lily was puzzled. Was he some kind of doctor or something? "What platform are you looking for?" said another voice. "You can't be too careful around here," yet another said to the first speaker, "This place is full of 'em." "No but look," the other replied, "she has got an owl." Where were they all coming from? Lily looked around for the speakers. They were more members of the gang, she was guessing, one was tall with deep-blue eyes, the other was tall too, with the eyes of puppy, dark and chocolaty. The one who was holding her was drop dead gorgeous.  
  
She was so embarrassed why did this have to happen to her? "Would you let go of me already," she said aggravated. But the boy only held her tighter. Lily screamed, "AAAAAAHHHH!" He let her go holding his ears. "Would you shut up already it was only a joke, sheesh," he was glaring at her with icy blue eyes. The ice melted quickly and his eyes were soon mischievously dancing. He grabbed her around the middle with one arm and covered her mouth with the other. "Come on mates we're gonna kidnap her until her gives me her name and phone number," he spun her around so he could see but still held on to her waist. "What are you gonna do to her?" said "chocolate." "They all began to laugh. "Yeah," started James, "remember the last time Sirius." but lily couldn't here the rest of the conversation cause they were all three walking away. Five seconds later, roaring laughter could be heard all over Kings Cross Station.  
  
"Well spit it out already or do you want to miss your train?" Sirius's smile widened and his eyes filled with laughter. Lily was still frightened but didn't scream instead she decided to use some of her acting skills. She wrapped her hands around his neck and gave him the most innocent look she could her eyes sparkling. Speaking almost as low as a whisper in a sly voice said, "My name is Lily Evens," she looked down at her feet then back up at him her eyes turning cold, "and you wouldn't give you my number for a million bucks." With that she slapped him so hard she was almost as surprised as he was.  
  
He let go of her so fast she almost fell backwards. The boy touched his cheek sheepishly. Then would you tell us what train you're trying to miss? His smile had faded and his frown was stone hard. "What does is mean to you?" she said. Now she was even more embarrassed. She didn't mean to hurt him why did he have to get so darn mad? He had hurt her more. "I guess your right," he answered, "It doesn't mean anything to me. James, come on. James? Oh god." He mumbled, "Oh God!" He shouted holding his head in his hands. "Bye, gotta run, maybe I'll see ya around." He shouted as he ran off in search of his friends. "Fat chance," she mumbled to herself sarcastically. She didn't think she would be seeing anyone she recognized from her regular world, for a long time.  
  
Lily reached the barrier that separated her from the Hogwarts Express, and carefully stepped through. The steam engine seemed like it was about to leave. A friendly man took her trunk from her and scooted her up through the open doors of the train. She found an empty compartment easily. She wasn't sure she wanted to make and friends just yet. She wanted to be alone and undisturbed. She didn't really want to go to this school, or. But she didn't have time to finish her thought because her compartment door was sliding open and, "Lily!" the person at the door called, "What are you doing on this train?" 


	2. Choo Choo Choo Trains

"Felicia!" Lily cried, leaping up to greet her friend, but something about Felicia told her not to. "Lily, seriously," she said with an angry and confused look, "what are you doing on this train?" her friend inquired. "This is the Hogwarts Express, right?" said a bewildered Lily. This was getting so confusing. "It is but what are you doing on it?" Felicia was really angry now. Lily was so scared she couldn't answer, she un-zippered her trunk, grabbed her acceptance letter, and thrust at Felicia. She read, her face darkening, and then suddenly threw the letter on the ground stomped on it a couple times and stormed out. Lily darted to the door after her.  
  
"Ouch!" Lily had knocked someone over as she had dashed out of the room. "Oh, sorry," she apologized over her shoulder, jumping over the fallen person. Before her foot had touched the ground on the other side, something grabbed her ankle and she fell face first into the tile flooring. The kid she had collided with had tripped her and was now leaping over her head, yelling, "It's okay I'm fine!" "The nerve," Lily mumbled threateningly before copying his move by grabbing his ankle. Unfortunately for Lily, instead of falling forward he fell backwards right on top of Lily. She screamed, the boy couldn't get up and for some reason he was laughing hysterically.  
  
But, in a few second it was not cries of laughter you could hear from down the hall. "Ouch!" the kid said for the second time in the last five minutes, while cradling his swelling arm. "Well I wouldn't have had to if you had gotten off me when you were supposed to," Lily practically pleaded. "Well, Miss-Everyone-Can-Read-My-Mind, sorry I didn't…" he didn't finish because he was too busy staring at Lily. She looked back at him for the first time. Her heart skipped a beat, was this one of those crazy boys she had run into before she had boarded the train? Were all of them coming to Hogwarts? "Hold up," Lily thought to herself, "you don't even know if this is the same guy, stop jumping to conclusions."  
  
He was talking again, "Hey aren't you the chick Sirius tried to pick up?" Lily blushed significantly even though Lily Evens, with her wavy shoulder-length red hair, dazzling forest green eyes and freckle dusted nose, was used to being called chick, baby or any other name guys thought up to explain her beauty. looking down at her toes, shifting uncomfortably, "Sirius," she repeated softly, "yeah that's me." It was who she thought it was. Now Lily knew she was going to die. Or at least she hoped she would. "You were pretty slick with him," he went on, "most girls don't know how to handle Sirius." There conversation continued in the corridor between them, neither noticing that the train was already moving until the first food cart came around.  
  
Remus, as Lily soon learned to call him, bought so many sweets Lily couldn't name then all. Of course that was due to the fact that Lily had never heard of any of them. She had seen one called a "Star Burst" but it was nothing like the chewy "muggle" candy. In fact, it was a lollypop that, when finished, stopped you from talking, instead a shower of glittering stars burst from your mouth whenever you started to speak. (This candy was banished in 1969 due to a number of "angel sightings" in the muggle world.)  
  
They went into the compartment, where Lily had originally seated herself, followed by another first year they had met buying treats. He called himself Steve, but his real name was Severus, he said it sounded too weird. He had neatly combed auburn hair with a tint of blond and shining brown eyes. They all talked about what they thought the sorting might be. Then Chocolate (Lily still didn't know his name) joined them and brought up rumors of enchanted ceilings. And of course, the question arose, what house they all wanted to be in. Steve and Remus where the first to answer, "Griffendor" they shouted in unison, "Me too," Chocolate chimed in.  
  
Lily hadn't thought about it much. She wanted to be in Ravenclaw 'cause it sounded cool. Hufflepuff seemed stupid and Griffendor seemed too vain. Slytherin was not nice sounding even though she liked the Slytherin colors but she knew the "sorting hat" that she had read about in her sister's diary, would know what was right for her. So she joined in just for the heck of it and shouted out, "Me three!"  
  
None of the four new friends had known to change into their new school robes so they all had to stay in the train with a group of trouble making seventh years. They hadn't changed on purpose, just so they would annoy the teachers who had been riding on the train and had been ordered to stay on it till all the children had gotten off. One of them told all of the students to just put their robes over their clothes to save time, so they did. They had missed the boats for the first years so they took a carriage instead. As it turned out they were lucky, some boys, with the names of Black, Sirius and Potter, James had "accidentally" pushed all the other passengers in their boat into the water and then played life guard saving them all from drowning or being eaten by a giant squid.  
  
Lily was so excited that time passed so quickly from when they stepped through the huge doors, to when they were all sharing nonsense stories about giant squids, to when they all shuffled noisily through the doors of the great hall to listen to a singing hat, to when Evens, Lily's name was called and she scuffled to the stool. " Aha!" the hat sang into Lily's ear, "A tricky little one 'eh? Well I've already made my decision, but you seem interesting so I'd like to talk to you…" Lily and the hat talked for eighteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds exactly before saying good-bye to her newfound friend. She had gotten off the stool and put the hat back when she realized that she didn't know which house table to sit at. It was about that time the hat noticed too and it shouted, "Griffendor!" 


End file.
